35. I did

I was one of the first in my school to do so. The school was one of the fairly early adopters of the idea of supplying all students with a laptop. And I drug my laptop to most classes.

I remember as well what I type as what I write. Plus its legible for later. And I type faster than I print or talk.

The only time it caused issues was when a teacher wanted to diagram. And even then, it wasn't usually a big deal. Now, with the faster computers that are out and a better knowledge of how to integrate things, even that would be a relatively simple matter.

38. Those aren't pen and paper kids. They just ain't taking notes.

If you haven't gotten used to taking notes via laptop, you're really missing out. Taking notes on pen and paper requires a lot of shorthand and a lot of scratching your head later trying to figure out what you were writing about. On a laptop you can pretty much write an essay that follows the lecture. It's actually a fantastic way to take notes and I'm really missing it in my current class where the instructor refuses to allow laptops in the classroom. I rarely reviewed my notes when taking them via laptop. Simply paraphrasing the instructor in full sentences and that sort of thing offered great memory retention.

14. Oh, it was big

36. Believe it or don't, but I went BACK to a word-processor.

I don't own a laptop (don't want one, either) so I bought one of these a few years back for my writing portability:

People actually comment positively on it (unlike the comments on that blog linked to the image.) I can only think of one person that was initially intrigued, and then turned away as I explained what it was. It was no longer "new" tech, so he wasn't interested

26. No, the ORIGINAL Word Processor...

Word processor may also refer to a type of stand-alone office machine, popular in the 1970s and 1980s, combining the keyboard text-entry and printing functions of an electric typewriter with a dedicated processor (like a computer processor) for the editing of text. Although features and design varied between manufacturers and models, with new features added as technology advanced, word processors for several years usually featured a monochrome display and the ability to save documents on memory cards or diskettes. Later models introduced innovations such as spell-checking programs, increased formatting options, and dot-matrix printing. As the more versatile combination of a personal computer and separate printer became commonplace, most business-machine companies stopped manufacturing the word processor as a stand-alone office machine. As of 2009 there were only two U.S. companies, Classic and AlphaSmart, which still made stand-alone word processors. Many older machines, however, remain in use. Since 2009, Sentinel has offered a machine described as a word processor, but in actuality it is more accurately a highly specialised microcomputer, used for accounting and publishing.

The operator of a Wang 1200 typed text on a conventional IBM Selectric keyboard; when the Return key was pressed, the line of text was stored on a cassette tape. One cassette held roughly 20 pages of text, and could be "played back" (e.g., the text retrieved) by printing the contents on continuous-form paper in the 1200 typewriter's "print" mode. The stored text could also be edited, using keys on a simple, six-key array. Basic editing functions included Insert, Delete, Skip (character, line), and so on.

The labor and cost savings of this device were immediate, and remarkable: pages of text no longer had to be retyped to correct simple errors, and projects could be worked on, stored, and then retrieved for use later on. The rudimentary Wang 1200 machine was the precursor of the Wang Office Information System (OIS), which revolutionized the way typing projects were performed in the American workplace.

18. As did I,

but it was at a time when I wasn't the only one in the room without a laptop. In fact, nobody took notes on a laptop back then. Nowadays, if you're a the only guy with a pen and pad either the machine's in the repair shop or you're not with the program.

(Also, I was making a lighthearted response to a lounge thread. No offense intended. )

I still have all of my notebooks (and text books) from college. They're tomes now. How many of those computer files will still be accessible in 25 years? Oh, and the guy in the front row with the black cap is doing something naughty. Look at the girl in the blue shirt next to him. The guy in the red shirt three rows back can obviously see it as well.

30. I am SO glad that I went to college and grad school

when we all used pen and paper for note-taking. You remember things you write down much more completely, at least I do. I also remember writing my senior thesis in college on an original IBM PC - the kind where you had to put a 5 1/2" (?) floppy into it to get it to do anything. All the computers were in the department word processing lab.

The first firm I worked for after graduating from law school in the late '80s spent zillions on a Wang word processing system that was made obsolete within two years by desktop PCs. Hilarious, and they were real assholes anyway. One younger attorney insisted on having a PC on his desk to write his own briefs and memos rather than writing them in longhand and vgiving them to a secretary to transcribe. A senior partner observed him working on his computer and told him "Mr. Smith, lawyers do not type." It is to laugh.

33. I've seen some really old-school guys

(and they were guys) dictate even legal briefs. I must put words on a screen, and ultimately paper, in order to get them the way I want them. I just cannot (dash) and never will be able to (dash) speak like that (period, end of paragraph)

I even worked for one partner who would call me into his office and make me sit there while he dictated the memo outlining the research project he wanted me to do. He was a good guy and a great lawyer but that was a really weird little habit he had.